The name Sumerian refers to people from Sumer. Its name Sumer came from the language of Akkadian, inhabitants of northern Mesopotamia, which implied the land of civilized kings. However, the Sumerians acknowledged themselves as the blacked headed people. Their civilization flourished between 4100-1750 BC in the southern part of Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. The Sumerians once did skillful irrigation, and the land proved fertile, and their significant cities existed before archaeologists discovered their existence.
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Characteristically, Sumerians were innovative and inventive, and there is a probability that they were the first people to develop writing. They wrote on clay tablets using simple pictures, which later evolved to what is referred to as Cuneiform (letters shaped like a wedge). Sumer's dwellers were sailors, traders, energetic farmers, and religious people who believed in many gods' worship. In this article, we will look at the top ten inventions and discoveries by the Sumerians.
Evidence from the archeological study shows that Sumerians had gathered the skills of harnessing and working with copper around 4th to 3rd BC. Copper use in Sumer is the oldest use of non-precious metal. Sumer's copper fabrication significantly influenced the growth of Mesopotamian cities like al 'Ubaid, Ur, Sumer, and Uruk.
Copper was used in making items like harpoons, razors, arrows, heads, and other tools, which later was developed to make other vessels like the copper jugs, and chisels. These objects showed the Sumerians had an advanced artisanship during their period. Though these Sumerian art forms were elementary, many of the artifacts they created were beautifully life-like.
Everybody acknowledges the system of day and night. However, it is the Sumerians who came up with the division of time. They are credited with the introduction of weeks, months, and years. Besides, their astronomical calculation was to the base of 60 and was accepted and appreciated throughout Eurasia.
The Sumerians had identified five planetary objects, which were visible to the naked eye. They had documented the movement of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. To predict future battles, the Sumerians used astrology symbols to foretell about future battles and fortunes. A day in Sumer began at the sun's rising and ended during sunset consisting of 12 hours. A new month started during the evening of the appearance of a new crescent of the new moon. The Crescent moon is the thinnest form of the moon.
To count the twelve months of a year, Sumerian used the moon phases to create the lunar calendar. They had a two-seasoned year consisted of winter ( Emesh ) and summer ( Enten ). The Enten began during the vernal equinox between February and March, where Emesh started during the autumn equinox between September and October. They performed a ritual of sacred marriage during the first day of a new year. They defined a year of the season by adding an extra month to the fourth year, which differs from the other three years.
Sumer being in the middle of the desert, it did not receive sufficient rainfall. Therefore, farmers in ancient Samaritan did not grow crops at their best conditions instead based their farming on irrigation. The rivers Euphrates and Tigris during spring flooded their fields, leaving behind silt (thick bed of mud), which was very fertile and was best for crop growing.
Besides the floods bringing a fortune of rich silt for farming, they also destroyed the Sumerians crops. To control the flooding, they built levees along the water banks to hold the water floor during periods of floods. During dry seasons, Famers poked holes in on the levees to let water into their farms for irrigation. Later, the Sumerians constructed canals to redirect water into their field. The irrigation systems necessitated much planning and teamwork to be successful.
The systems of monarchy rose around 3000 BC in Egypt and Sumer. A ruler was necessary to govern the diverse range of people who lived on Sumerian land. The priesthood had ruled the states but with illegitimate authority. Consequently, this led to the monarchy's growth with the ruler dominating the position of serving and ruling the people who resided on the Sumer land.
Foreign trade was established filmy; therefore, there was a need for meaningful communication between Sumerians and their foreign trade agent. The need for communication led to developing a writing system referred to as the Cuneiform ( a form of pictorial writing). The land of Sumer came to be ruled by the single monarch when kingship arose. The ruler worked hand in hand with a council of elders comprising of both women and men. Evidence shows that kings that came after Estana were not Sumerians but from the tribe of Semites. For example, Enmebaraggesi, the king of Kish, was a Semite. After the eighth king s 'rule, then Sumerians' names show up in the kings' list.
A version of the board game was found from ancient Mesopotamia made of 20 squares. The board game was named the royal game, and it is estimated to have existed around 2500 BC. Archeologist Sir Leonard Woolley discovered the board between 1920 and 1933. Of the two boards discovered, one is available in the British Museum in London. It is the oldest board game ever found where two people could play it. Sumerian board games gained popularity throughout the Middle East.
The oldest system of writing available, called Cuneiform, was from ancient Sumer. It was a form of writing that used simple pictograms to pass a message. Archeological evidence shows that Cuneiform was developed by 2800 BC. The writing system did not leave much literature about their history; however, it was used on mundane issues like tracking goods and livestock. Ultimately, through time, they developed the scheme combined with a pictogram to express actions and ideas. Scribes could sharpen reeds to write the symbols and inscribe them in a wet clay tablet. Cuneiform was borrowed by neighboring civilizations and was in use for about 2000 years.
In about 3000 BC, the Sumerians had developed a number system referred to as the sexagesimal number system. The system had its base as number 60, thus the origin of the name. The number system, which is still in use but modified, was passed down to the Babylonians. With the number 60, it was possible to break down it more straightforward factors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60. Necessity led to the development of mathematics to cater to the needs of trade, taxation, and record keeping.
Additionally, the assignment of symbols to large numbers was essential to track time and prepare for the lunar calendar. To denote number one, they used a small clay cone. To represent number 10, they use a ball, and a colossal clay cone was used to represent the number 60. The Sumerians invented an elemental abacus between 2700 and 2300 BC.
The Sumerians invented the wheel in around 3500 BC. The Sumerians used wood to make the first wheel. It was used to carry heavy loads and objects. In this period, people had begun domestication of animals and formed some forms of a societal hierarchy. During the development, they created the sled, which combined two wheels. Consequently, the process of making the wheel was gradual, which paved the way later for making carts and chariots. This invention is fundamental in modern society as it carters for transportation all through the world.
The Sumerians first invented a two-wheeled chariot that was animal-driven. Archeological evidence shows that the Sumerians used the carts for transportation in about 3000 BC. However, these chariots were used by the military or in ceremonies rather than getting around the countryside. The Sumerian cart was lighter, made of two solid wheels that were pulled by four donkeys.
The code of Ur-Nammu was developed about 3000 BC, which is the oldest surviving law. It was written on a clay tablet in the Sumerian language. The code gives a silky preview of the ancient justice system in Sumer. Under the regulation, these are some of the laws that were inscribed in the clay tablet.
i. The sentence for committing murder is death
ii. Robbery results in death
iii. If a man kidnaps another, he should pay 15 shekels of silver and be imprisoned.
iv. Slave to hand over the first son to his owner if he marries a native.
v. A slave does not leave the house if he married another slave if he is set free.
Sailboats were also invented by the Sumerian people. After the great success of wheel, they started thinking about something to move on water. At that time, they had a tone of ways to move on land. They had different types of chariots which were pulled by various animals. On the other hand, they had some simple planes connected to some spinning wheels. Those were used to move speedily from one place to another.
Now, it was time to make something to travel on water. Sumerian people used some wood pieces and attached them to another to form a sailboat. The first sailboat was very simple and only contained small space. Later on, they made huge sailboats even used for battles. These sailboats were used to move on water. Today, the boats and ships are the advanced forms of those sailboats. So, we can say that the credit for moving on water goes to the Sumerian civilization.
The Sumerian people came up with a primary form of time. It consisted of basic number system which revolved around the number 60. This was also a great invention which made a lot of changes in man's life.
In Sumerian civilization, they were so many advantages of using time. In older times, people used sunset and sunrise to figure out their daily routines. They were not aware of time and how to use it. This was a great problem because of the weather difference which impacted the time. In summer, we have longer days and shorter nights and the opposite in winters. The same was also true for everyone before Sumerian civilization. So, using only the Sun to set different things was not so good. The Sumerian people then invented time which other civilizations used as well. Now you can easily consider how tough it would be without the Sumerian invention of time.
Sumerian people also invented soap. It has been using for thousands of years till today. Sumerian people thought about a substance to clean the dirty clothes and other stuff. It was hard to make such thing at that time but Sumerian people did it. They mixed wood ash and animal fats to make a brownish substance. This substance was useful in cleaning and removing dirt from the clothes.
Today, we can study the history of Sumer and its surroundings like Mesopotamia. We come to know that Sumerian people used soap in different industries. It was created back to 2700 BC when there was nothing available to clean dirty things. After the Sumerian civilization, different other civilizations used soap. They used soap in different industries, especially in the textile industry. It was a great invention that we are still using it today.
Sumerian people made different types of weapons for their protection. Those weapons were used for different purposes. The most used weapons were axe, bow, and arrow. They had to hunt animals to feed people. Their concern was to protect their nation from other civilizations. For these purposes, they used different weapons. There was a time when different civilizations started attacking them to kill them. Then Sumerian people crafted some heavy weapons which was very powerful. The mostly used weapons were socketed axes.
With these weapons, they felt protected from other civilizations. Teams have found various types of firearms in the Sumerian region. These firearms are now in the surroundings of Iraq. Their weapons were as necessary as hunting was required for food. Thus, we can say that the Sumerian civilization gave us the concept of weapons. Many other civilizations used the same weapons to protect themselves. Some of their invented weapons are still in use in different regions of the world.
Among the most potent western myths, the Sumerians can be credited among the earliest form of civilization. The Sumerians had laid the groundwork for many innovations and inventions that make lives easy for humans in modern times. It would be challenging to think of the world without these discoveries. Sumerians worked these imaginations, which never existed and made their invention for the future. The invention of the calendar, for instance, helps us track time. All these inventions and innovations have stood the test of time and continue to serve humans hundreds and hundreds of years.
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